What is a Phased Paper?
A phased paper is report of a research study that has three stages of formal peer review.
- In the first stage, authors submit the background materials (introduction to the area, motivation for the research questions, discussion of related work) and a complete study design (including a comprehensive analysis plan.) This is reviewed and significant feedback is provided. Only after the first round proposal is accepted in principle, do the authors conduct the study and collect any research data. We see this as a collaborative proposal development process. Reviewers will be happy to revisit proposals that have been improved based on the initial feedback.
- Then they submit a Phase 2 paper which consists of the initial sections but now adds the data analysis and some initial discussion thoughts. Reviewers provide feedback on this phase but do not need to re-review the sections that were reviewed during phase 1. In particular, they cannot ask for changes to the study methodology which was already approved.
- Based on the second round of feedback, the authors prepare the final paper which is sent for a final round of review. Again, these reviewers cannot require changes to elements already approved.
Phased-papers can cover the same topics as any other CompEd submissions. Papers submitted via this track will not be identifiable as such in the Digital Library. The submissions and review process for phased papers will meet the criteria for Dual Anonymous (Double-blind).
Submitting the first phase
Phase 1 papers can be submitted at any time after September 1, 2024. Phase 1 reviews will be returned to authors within one month of their submission. The last possible date for Phase 1 submissions is January 20, 2025, but authors are encouraged to submit several months before this date in order to allow for enough time to conduct their study.
Phase 1 manuscripts should follow the instructions given for regular papers but should only include the following paper sections:
- abstract
- introduction
- related work
- methodology — including a fully described analysis plan
- references
At the point of the first phase, the study should not yet have been conducted.
Anonymous versions for review
Phase 1 papers should be fully anonymous as described in the call for regular papers.
Ethical status of data collection
Any project that plans to make use of data from human participants (including student surveys, class results, educator interviews, published data sets, etc) will need to have approval from the appropriate authority. Because obtaining research ethics approval can be a slow process, authors are encouraged to consider beginning their local approval process in parallel with their Phase 1 submission.
At the time of Phase 1 submission the submission system will ask you to confirm that you already have ethics approval. This question is mandatory for submissions to conferences through EasyChair. Please interpret this question as confirming that you will obtain ethics approval before conducting your data collection.
Formatting the paper
The final paper will be limited to a maximum of 8 pages plus one additional page which may only contain references. The phase 1 paper is limited to 6 pages total including references.
For details regarding formatting see the instructions provided for regular papers.
Submitting Phase 1 papers
Submit your Phase 1 papers through EasyChair using the following link https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=comped2025
Paper presentation
Papers in the Phased Paper track will be presented in person and at least one author must register and attend the conference. See our full policy for more information.
Further Questions?
Please contact the program chairs.